


Scrapbook

by link621



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-28
Updated: 2007-04-28
Packaged: 2017-12-16 02:05:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/856522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/link621/pseuds/link621
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yamato has his relationship with Tezuka documented on film from the first day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scrapbook

**[Tezuka and I 06/14/06]**

Tezuka looked rather dashing in stripes – his limbs were long and moved elegantly – the stripes served to elongate naturally graceful arms and almost give the illusion that he could truly return any ball. It was a good memory... they met up on a Saturday evening after dinner when Yamato offered to buy his underclassman ice cream. After some complications involving a garden hose, the curb, a cat, and ice cream spilling all over Tezuka’s shirt, the younger boy made the mistake of allowing Yamato to pick out a new long-sleeved t-shirt to fend off the cool summer night air. The picture was snapped when Yamato took his underclassman by surprise, dragging him into a photo booth and insisting they do at least one set.

**[Tezuka and Oishi at the aquarium 07/03/06]**

Fish had always been more up Oishi’s alley, so it was pleasantly surprising when Tezuka had taken immediately to the seal exhibit, standing at a casual distance, but watching with no short supply of facination. Hovering not far from his shoulder was Oishi – the older of the two rattled off explanations of the different fish (eating habits, mating habits, many things it was a wonder he knew) to his companions as they wandered through the aquarium. Yamato snuck his camera out while the two younger boys were distracted, but the reflection of the flash caught their attention and they both turned sharply back to their former captain. The picture did not come out well, but the subsequent photo taken more or less with their permission in the gardens outside the aquarium came out perfectly.

**[Tezuka being clumsy 07/04/06]**

All Yamato remembers is the snappish command to never speak of this moment, again, as Tezuka gracelessly picked himself up off the floor. The employees of the store that was selling the waterbed rushed to his aid while Yamato snapped shots that he said were for blackmail purposes.

**[Yamabuki invitational 07/27/06]**

Upon Minami’s request, Tezuka had found himself, along with several other notable players in the world of junior high tennis, involved in a friendly tennis tournament in the dead of summer. It was too hot to think, almost too hot to breathe – complaints rose between Hyoutei’s famed prodigy Atobe and Yamabuki’s ace Sengoku (one rare moment, Tezuka would explain later, that the two would speak pleasantly). Ever stoic, the bespectacled boy showed no sign of being phased by the heat – he only appeared mildly disappointed when the event was called due to the extreme heat. Yamabuki’s infamous Don Juan settled beside Tezuka on one of the benches, grinning at him and speaking to him just loudly enough that his tone (playful) could be determined from the spectator seating, but not his words. Yamato captured Tezuka’s small, bemused smile on film.

[Tezuka, Fuji and Oishi 08/03/06]

It was no shock that Tezuka owned a kimono that had been in his family for years – not only was it clearly hand woven and dyed, but it was a dignified indigo in color and woven with a delicate gold pattern. Strangely enough, he appeared fully relaxed in such a garment; Yamato suspected that it was more familiar to him than the jeans and t-shirts that many of the other young festival goers wore. With the sleeves pulled back, crouching in front of a small trough and attempting to catch a goldfish with a paper net, it was almost difficult to believe he was the same boy with the intense stare on the tennis courts. Lingering near his arm, cheering him on with a pleasant smile, was Fuji who looked nothing short of feminine in a light brown yukata. Yamato borrowed his camera, instructing him to move a bit closer to Tezuka, and took the picture just as Tezuka successfully captured the fish. They named it Oishi.

**[Oishi and Tezuka 08/13/06]**

Summer’s heat blazed on – it was as though the sun was hanging too close to the world, hovering just above their heads, threatening to burn them to a crisp. Unperturbed, Oishi had suggested that everyone go to the pool together and somehow Tezuka had been coerced into calling Yamato to invite him along. Kikumaru, ever troublesome, had the presence of mind to purchase a disposable camera that was good underwater and was passed between Seigaku’s tennis club – present and former members alike. By the time it landed in Yamato’s hand, he had the ideal shot – Oishi, garbed only in a pair of purple swim trunks and goggles, dragging Tezuka (who had not yet removed his shirt as he stubbornly read beside the pool under an umbrella) into the water by one arm. Moments later, Tezuka had given his best friend a withering glare, but the camera was by then out of film.

**[deleted]**

The fun house was often the best part of the amusement park, for Yamato – he enjoyed most the mirrors that warped anyone who might happen to look in them. He was most fond of the one that gave him long legs and an impressive chest, posing like a model in front of it with a shit-eating grin. Marginally unimpressed, his underclassman had wandered on to the room where the floors shook, making it difficult to traverse. Yamato followed, loyal as a puppy, moving carelessly across the floor that inevitably jolted him into Tezuka, pinning the younger boy against the rail bodily as Yamato outweighed him significantly. The picture that was accidentally captured by the camera as he bumped it with his elbow was of their sneakers – attempting to occupy the same space on the floor and ending up parallel. Said picture did not tell of the sudden furious beat of Yamato’s heart, the dusting of color on Tezuka’s cheeks, or the moment of inner panic where neither of them knew how to gracefully defuse the situation.

****

[Tezuka, Atobe and Sanada 10/04/06]

Misery by any other name would be Tezuka – he had agreed to the birthday party simply to stop his phone from ringing eighteen times a day (he counted). Unfortunately, his plan to curb Atobe’s enthusiasm had backfired and quite soon he found himself at the very center (or, next to the very center, anyway) of attention at a gigantic party involving nearly every junior high aged boy who played tennis in the Tokyo area. Fuji was the one taking pictures, that day – he had sent them to Yamato upon request, later, so Yamato did not know the story behind the one picture in particular that was immortalized in his photo album. For a moment, though, it seemed there was peace as Tezuka offered a glass in toast to Rikkai’s vice captain. Sitting between them, eyeing Sanada, was Atobe, his glass half-raised to join them. Every now and then, Yamato would return to the picture and wonder what words Tezuka had spoken in toast.

**[Tezuka 10/07/06]**

Tezuka insisted for months to follow that he had no reason to explain himself. 

 

****

[Tezuka and Momoshiro 11/21/06]

It was no secret that Momoshiro often fell asleep on long bus rides, and it was not all surprising to learn that it was no different on trains, subways, airplanes, cars... actually, it was a wonder he did not fall asleep on his bike. This did not serve to soothe the frustration evident in Tezuka’s posture as the younger boy slumbered away peacefully on his shoulder. As it said in his text message, Oishi could not help but snap the picture with his phone – he sent it along to Yamato since he knew the former captain would appreciate it. Later, he sent along a second with the caption, "don’t tell Tezuka." The boy’s sleeping face was well worth his reaction when he inevitably found out.

****

[Tezuka and I 12/25/06]

Christmas was cold but not snowy – everyone ran about bundled up in heavy coats over their suits or school uniforms while Yamato remained mostly oblivious to the temperature, content with a sweater and scarf. He had a date – the girl was supposed to be meeting him for hot chocolate at a café near their school – but was very early, as was in his nature. For this, he was rewarded with the most pleasant of surprises as his protégé and friend rounded the corner of the street, coming toward him with his eyes turned down to the ground below him. Yamato remembered them exchanging a few words; Tezuka mentioned that he was on his way home, and after a few minutes they were in the café having cocoa together – well, tea for Tezuka. If the girl had ever shown up, Yamato did not know. A young woman at the table next to them was easily talked into taking a picture of the two of them, together. Tezuka’s nose and ears were red from being out in the cold.

[Tezuka 01/12/07]

Though he maintained for all eternity that it was not his doing, but Echizen’s, Tezuka had added a cell phone strap to his phone, nonetheless. Feigning fiddling with his own phone, Yamato was sure that both Tezuka and the white cat were captured in the photograph for the sake of posterity.

**[Tezuka and I 05/10/04]**

The picture did not surface until well after the scrapbook was beginning to be compiled. Tezuka looked so small – his arms and legs were thin, his shoulders narrow, and his clothing looked to be a touch too big for his awkward frame. Or, maybe it was just that Yamato never grew again, after that day – he looked so much older than Tezuka, sitting passively reading a magazine while the younger boy cradled his left elbow in his hand and looked down at his feet. Even his sneakers looked too big for his body – like a puppy with adult-sized feet on a small frame. Moments after, Yamato had glanced over and offered some words of comfort that appeared to go ignored.

  
**[Tezuka 02/14/07]**

 

Just as he was in stripes, Tezuka was striking in his school uniform – it was amazing how the same outfit could be worn by so many people, but look as though it had been designed to fit one boy in particular in a sea of black jackets over white shirts. Yamato discovers him in an otherwise empty classroom, hiding out during his lunch break. Valentine’s Day was dangerous for boys like Tezuka – handsome, charismatic, brilliant – and that particular year it was no different. The picture was taken to document just how many gifts Tezuka had already received – it could not be helped that it featured the otherwise composed boy looking somewhere between sullen and embarrassed.

 **[Seigaku 02/14/07]**

They gathered on the court if only because there was safety in numbers.

 **[Tezuka and I 06/14/07]**

The funny thing about kissing Yamato was that it is entirely unlike kissing a girl. His body was warm – wide at the shoulders – he would be smothering to a person of a smaller stature. His lips were soft, but demanding – his chin was scratchy with perpetual stubble that he did not seem to ever quite shave completely. Everything – from his manners to the way his hands had already began wandering well beyond where they were welcome – everything about Yamato Yuudai was quite inescapably masculine. 

It was entirely strange to find oneself in the position of kissing one’s tennis captain as well, Tezuka found himself thinking somewhere between the phone slipping from his fingers and feeling his shoulders touch the wall. He thought perhaps he ought to be resisting – or at least pretending to resist – but something about the confused buzz of voices on the other end of the phone and the scratchy feeling of stubble he can feel rub against his own skin made it quite hard to do much of anything but think about how he ought to be doing things. Some part of his mind (the part that is still wondering how this whole kissing business works as he has only been kissed once, and then it was not only by a girl but also on more of a dare basis than anything else) wondered if they ought remove their glasses, and if that story about how two people with braces kissing could potentially catch braces was really true.

Saliva was sticky. 

Long, thin fingers wrapped tight in the cloth of the upper classman’s jersey. Naturally, Tezuka was awarded a regular jersey as well – he was the first ever freshman in the high school division to serve as a vice captain, and even then it was only because it was Yamato who held the honor of captain for the club. It was not totally unusual for them to be alone, like this, after practice in the clubroom. They worked together to close up the clubhouse every night after practice – once the other freshman finished putting away the nets and the crates of balls, Tezuka lingered behind with their captain for a few moments to be sure everything was in order and then lock up.

Distantly, he was still aware of the cell phone he dropped before, but did not realize that he had kicked it under the lockers while being pushed back, and that it would require some effort digging it out, later. All he can think about was lips, stubble, the inherent properties of saliva, and murmured words of fondness moments before Yamato pounced.

Alerted by the sudden, abrupt end to the phone call, Fuji was there to document it all on film.


End file.
